voice your opinion on balconies!!!!

[CamCruiser]

We really enjoy having a balcony. For us, it is a great part of our total cruise experience. We love to sit on the balcony to listen to the ocean, watch for dolphins or whales, read, sun bathe, relax and eat.

The balcony doesn't have to be really large, but it should be big enough so that 3 of us can maneuver around without it being more hassle than pleasure.

[Jules59]

My husband and I just love our balcony on the Crown Princess. It's a mini-suite and has a view out to the side that curves around to the back. I can't imagine going on anything less. (Other than it's sister ships). Coffee out there in the morning. Hubby can relax there while I get ready for the day. Mid - afternoon relaxing. Evening drink. Perfect!

[loliola]

We really enjoy having a balcony. For us, it is a great part of our total cruise experience. We love to sit on the balcony to listen to the ocean, watch for dolphins or whales, read, sun bathe, relax and eat.

The balcony doesn't have to be really large, but it should be big enough so that 3 of us can maneuver around without it being more hassle than pleasure.

 

That's it exactly! Its all about time on the ocean, which is why I would never cruise without a balcony (doesn't have to be large)... If you just want to saute yourself around a pool, you don't need to be on a cruise ship...it always amazes me how seldom people are on their balconies, when I think its the best part (although I really like the other stuff, too) and I was surprised to see that the retreat areas on Royal have the loungers facing inward toward the pool and not outward toward the ocean!

[calbabe]

too bad they've changed the balcony furniture on many ships and we no longer have "comfy" chairs but quite uncomfortable ones (imho).

 

a g r e e d !!! :(

[Cruisin' Chick]

It is precisely this approach that makes this issue so frustrating. Take a look at the deck plan. Over 1/3 of the non-suite cabins are set up to accommodate 3 or 4 people. Maybe more. But the ship has around 100 such cabins with balconies that will hold 3 people or more. I find it rather insulting that Princess would invite families of 3 or more onto the ship and at the same time tell them that they must draw straws to see who gets to sit on the balcony. But people who always travel as singles or couples chime in and say: "this doesn't impact me so I don't care". Isn't this the very definition of selfish? How would you like it if Princess eliminated the Crown Grill and then read a string of posts from vegetarians crowing about how they don't care? Balcony size does matter to families. Why no sympathy for them?

 

We're a family of three who have always booked insides or OVs and I disagree that I'm being selfish just because I don't care about the size of the balconies. As someone pointed out with their retort, your Crown Grill analogy really doesn't work. If someone is a vegetarian, why should they care if there is a Crown Grill or not. It's up to the meat eaters to patronize the restaurant and let the cruiseline know they had a great experience. Same for non-smokers. Why should we care if the areas for smoking keep shrinking. The smoking population is shrinking. Makes sense to me.

[jollyjones]

That's it exactly! Its all about time on the ocean, which is why I would never cruise without a balcony

 

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, I would paraphrase it to 'never cruise without a promenade deck' - I don't care about balconies at all - they're all too small in the sense that I really enjoy the promenade deck ... for walking, not sitting still.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm thinking that Princess isn't too happy that not only did Cruise Critic write an article about how small the balconys are on their flag ship, they e:mailed it to all their subscribers

[SeagoingMom]

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, I would paraphrase it to 'never cruise without a promenade deck' - I don't care about balconies at all - they're all too small in the sense that I really enjoy the promenade deck ... for walking, not sitting still.

Can't we have both? :)

[JimAOk1945]

Can't we have both? :)

 

I agree. We love having both a balcony and a promenade! We spend a lot of time on both. :D

[Times Prince]

Not on the Royal. They appear to be the same as all others.

Be careful of which ship is being referenced in the posts. The comment about Dolphin balconies referred to the Caribbean Princess.

 

Originally Posted by dleighb

My husband and I are newbies to cruising having only been on four cruises on three ships. Disney Magic, NCL Pride of America, HAL Zuiderdam. Our first Princess Cruise on the Caribbean Princess is booked for January.

[cstrycha]

I love having a balcony. Having outside space with no other people in it is my idea of heaven, because my non-vacation life involves hours on crowded subways and trains. We've generally had balcony rooms, then a late booking landed us in a handicapped accesssible corner aft mini suite on Princess. Subsequent to that, another late booking got a Family Suite, also aft on Celebrity just for two of us. Now I'm terribly spoiled. That Celebrity suite balcony was huge with a big round table and 6 chairs plus two loungers and room for dancing. We were one level below the Sunset bar and had nightly pre-dinner entertainment.

 

We cruise with friends who always go for inside rooms to save money. The time I'm spending on my balcony, they are doing their part for the health of the casino, so we always seem to end up spending the same amount. I love, love love being outside, especially late at night, just looking at the moon.

 

If the Royal's balconies are small and uncomfortable, I'll just have to sail on all the others in the Princess fleet. Headed to my 4th Princess ship next month (Ruby) so we've still got many others to try.

[ddcruisers93]

I totally agree. A good sized balcony and promenade deck would be great. How about bigger showers too?

[dforeigner]

Firstly... from other posters, the chairs are not "comfy".

 

Second... many people travel with friends and family, and they like to be able to get more than two people on their balcony (happy hour??). I agree.. for two people they are probably adequate... if you don't want to relax, spread your feet out on the railing, read, and just snooze for a while.

 

Thank you.

 

Yes many travel as a family of three or four rather than as a pair.

 

Guess I am the exception. I spend a great deal of time out on the balcony and very little time out on the pool.

 

If I spend three hours out on the pool (on a 7 day voyage) is a lot. On the other hand, I spend 4-5 hrs. a day out on the balcony.

 

So yes, size does matter.

[Cruiserkenn]

My husband and I just love our balcony on the Crown Princess. It's a mini-suite and has a view out to the side that curves around to the back. I can't imagine going on anything less. (Other than it's sister ships). Coffee out there in the morning. Hubby can relax there while I get ready for the day. Mid - afternoon relaxing. Evening drink. Perfect!

 

Yes, I too love the aft mini suites with the curved balconies.

 

One time, in Snow Pass in Alaska, the whales were so close that I could hear them breathing, just beneath our balcony. What an experience!

 

Love those Grand Class mini suite balconies:). So large:)

[SeagoingMom]

I totally agree. A good sized balcony and promenade deck would be great. How about bigger showers too?

How about two large showers -- one in the whirlpool tub and a separate one next to it, like in HAL Zuiderdam superior balcony cabin! Aaah, lovely!

[Love.II.Cruise]

How about two large showers -- one in the whirlpool tub and a separate one next to it, like in HAL Zuiderdam superior balcony cabin! Aaah, lovely!

 

I'm starting to think more and more that we need to try HAL. My only issue is that they allow smoking on their balconies. If they ever change that, we'll book in a heartbeat.

[DRS/NC]

Guess I am the exception. I spend a great deal of time out on the balcony and very little time out on the pool.

If I spend three hours out on the pool (on a 7 day voyage) is a lot. On the other hand, I spend 4-5 hrs. a day out on the balcony.

 

 

YES! I now travel alone or w/a friend, but I prefer my outside time on my balcony -- in most any weather (that will get tested next month on the Emerald's TA). Since the ships have gotten so very BIG (size & population), I don't like to 'relax' in the midst of 2500+ people & loud music, but I like to be "on" the water, esp. on sea days.

 

I also wonder if the cruise lines have a bit of "Las Vegas" thinking -- if pax get too comfortable in their cabins/balconies, they aren't spending additional $$$. [in Vegas, it was the lack of chairs or benches for the casual tourist to sit -- except in the casino. No, I do NOT like Vegas!]

 

My vote is for comfortable balconies!

[jean s]

I personally love the balcony. I spend hours on the balcony reading, looking at the water, napping, drinking, eating and just relaxing. If balconies become smaller and uncomfortable I guess we will go to a cruise line that still has a balcony that is appropriate for our vacation comfort.

[rachelfran]

My husband is a bird watcher ... we just took our first cruise in alaska and i booked the extended balcony - he was very happy with the larger balcony - He was able to set up his scope and tripod and have it ready to go at anytime... He did carry it all over the ship, too -but he was glad to have space for it on the balcony as well. I'm sure that cruising w/o any balcony would be a no no for him.

[ONT-CA]

Our concept of a balcony and one which we will be enjoying this winter is shown here;

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/Louis-Cristal-0678-1.jpg

 

Yes, that is a personal hot tub in the corner.

[MauiLvrs]

Just don't book a balcony ... ever ...:eek:

It's hard to go back ...;)

[RevSmith]

I just read an article on cruise critic from Norwegian that new ships they are building will have smaller balconies as cruisers prefer larger space inside. Who are they kidding? Princess reconfirmed the Regal will be the same as the Royal. I switched from Norwegian to Princess due to smaller cabins & balconies. What is your opinion???

 

Once you do a balcony you never go back, why would they make them smaller. Seems silly to me, it's your private or semi private out door space.

[srice]

DW and I spend a lot of time on our balcony so the smaller size of balconies on the Royal Princess will keep us from sailing on her.

 

We love the covered balconies in ME class on the Emerald deck of the Grand Class ships!

[1982CruzStart]

I won't sail if I can't have a balcony. That private outside space is an absolute must for me no matter where I am sailing. We have been lucky enough to sail on 1 of Regent's all balcony ships and their standard cabins are a very good size but their standard balconies are quite small. I like the size of the cabin on Regent but the size of the balcony on the older HAL ships. Inside space is also important to me as i really enjoy spending time in my cabin more than in public areas. I like to read in the comfort of my own room when it is too hot or too cold on the balcony and in a place where i can lounge about. I would rather give up public space than either cabin or balcony size.

 

We are currently booked on our first Princess cruise in a mini-suite on the Star so I will see how the cabins and balconies compare to other ships.

[ONT-CA]

Our concept of a balcony and one which we will be enjoying this winter is shown here;

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/Yarkerhill/Louis-Cristal-0678-1.jpg

Yes, that is a personal hot tub in the corner.

 

To correct an assumption that this is not a ship balcony, it is one of two on the Louis Crystal.